New Delhi: Australia have retained the Ashes after defeating England by 82 runs in the third Test at the Adelaide Oval on December 21. The Aussies took an unassailable 3-0 lead against England in the five-match series.
This is the fourth successive Ashes Test series down under where the Aussies managed to take a 3-0 lead, but this time England have lost the series in just 11 days of cricket.
Mitchell Starc has delivered some sensational spells, while Travis Head, Alex Carey and Marnus Labuschagne scored crucial runs in the first three Tests so far. Here are the top moments that helped Australia retain the urn.
England’s Horrific collapse in Perth Test
England scored 172 runs in the first innings after opting to bat first in Perth. The visitors managed to bundle Australia out for 132. They were 65/2 in their second innings, leading by 105 runs, but suffered a horrific collapse and were bowled out for just 164 runs.
Head’s blistering century helped Australia to win
Chasing a 205-run target on the tough wicket, Australia needed something special from their batters, while England still had the chance of victory if their bowlers could repeat the first innings performance. But Travis Head, who was promoted as an opener due to Usman Khawaja’s back stiffness, smashed 123 runs off 83 balls to help his side win by eight wickets.
Harry Brook’s brain-fade moment in Brisbane
England last won a Test match at the Gabba in 1986, and were all set to create history. The visitors were well placed at 176/3 after opting to bat first in the day-night Test. Then came Harry Brook’s brain-fade moment, who looked good in twilight and was set on 31, but played a poor shot against Mitchell Starc to second slip. Although Joe Root slammed his maiden century in Australia, but the visitors only managed to score 334 on good batting surface.
Drop chances proved costly for England
England had the chance to make up for their batting mistakes, but delivered a woeful fielding effort on day two at the Gabba. The visitors dropped five catches overall, which costed them the match. Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith dropped Head’s catch on three, while Duckett dropped Alex Carey on 0. Head scored just 30 runs, but Carey amassed 63 runs.
Mitchell Starc’s 77 put Australia in complete control
England still had hope of quickly dismissing the Aussie batters on day three in Brisbane to reduce their first-innings deficit. But Mitchell Starc, who delivered a sensational spell with the ball, showed immense grit with the bat. His 77 runs off 141 balls helped Australia to 511 in the first innings.
England openers made same mistake
English batters needed to show discipline to erase Australia’s first innings lead and give their bowlers a respectable target to defend. They crossed the 90-run mark for the loss of one wicket, but Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley played poor shots as England bundled out for 241. Australia needed just 65 runs to win, and they chased down the target in just 10 overs.
Brook drops returning Khawaja’s catch
Usman Khawaja’s international career looked over after he was ruled out of the second Ashes Test due to a back injury, and then was not selected in the playing XI for the Adelaide Test. But was recalled due to Steve Smith’s illness and slotted to bat at number four. He came to the crease in just 10 overs after Australia lost early wickets. He looked to play a drive against Josh Tongue’s outswinger, but got a thick edge flying to second slip at Harry Brook, who dropped the simple catch. Khawaja was batting on just 5 runs at that time, and went on to score 82.
Alex Carey saved by Snicko error
Australia were 245/6, and Carey was batting on 72 runs when the visitors thought they had removed him caught behind. The on-field umpire, Ahsan Raza, rejected the appeal, and skipper Ben Stokes quickly reviewed it.
Despite a big spike and large sound on the Snicko, third umpire Chris Gaffaney did not change the decision as the ball appeared to be away from the bat when the sound occurred. It was later discovered that the Snicko operator made a big mistake by using the bowler’s end microphone, rather than the batter’s end. Carey notched up a crucial hundred on his home ground as Australia posted 371.
Cummins removes Root for 13th time in Test cricket
England needed to show some determination with the bat on a decent day two Adelaide surface, but Australian bowlers delivered a stunning performance. Captain Pat Cummins led the bowling attack on his return, removing key batter Joe Root for the 13th time in Tests, which is more than any other bowler.
Another century from Head helped Australia retain the Ashes
Stokes and Archer forged a brilliant partnership to reduce the deficit as England trailed by only 85 runs after the first innings. The hosts lost four wickets in the second innings and were just 234 runs ahead, but Head smashed 170 on his home ground to put the Test beyond England’s reach. Chasing the daunting target of 435 runs, the visitors bowled out for 352 runs.